Vehicle actuated means for opening and/or closing doors and gates



W', AUSTIN 2,120,084 VEHICLE ACTUATED MEANS FOR OPENING AND/OR CLOSINGDOORS AND GATES June 7, 1938.

6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 3l, 1956 /A/vf/*vro WML/fm1 fil/574; BYffm/Mu W M TcToRA/ns W. AUSTIN `une 7, 1938.

VEHICLE ACTUATED MEANS FOR OPENING AND/OR CLOSING DOORS AND GATES 6Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5l, 1936 l/VVNTOR N WILLIAM UST 2ans QNM Q@SNA. N SQ mm,

.www uw@ June 7, 1938. 4 w. AUSTIN 2,120,084

VEHICLE CTUATED MEANS FOR OPENING AND/OR CLOSING DOORS AND GATES A FiledOct. 51, 1936 GvSheetS-Sheet l5 June 7, 1938.

w1 AUSTIN VEHICLE ACTUATED MEANS FOR OPENING AND/OR CLOSING DOORS ANDGATES Filed oct. 51, 1936.v

Jne 7, 1938. w, AUSTIN Y 29,984

VEHICLE ACTUATED MEANS FOR OPENING AND/OR CLOSING DOORS AND GATES FiledOct. 3l, 1936 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 fig/ff' O ff w. AUSTIN 2,l20,084

VEHICLE ACTUATED MEANS FOR OPENING AND/OR CLOSING DOORS AND GATES `lme7, 3938.

6 sheets-sheet 6 Filed OCb. 3l, 1956 Patented June 7, 1938 .UNITEDvs'rAr-Es VEHICLE ACTUAT'ED' MEANS FOR OPENING AND/R CLOSING DOORS ANDYGATES Wiiiiam Austimoanterbury, England 'Application October v31,1936,'Serial No. 108,ii14

In Great Britain November 6, 1935 Y 10 Claims.

"Thejpresent' invention relates to vehicle actuated 4meansfor openingand/or closing doors, gates and the like.

The invention is applicable to the opening V5 and/or closing of any kindof'doors, gates or the likethrough which the vehicle is requiredtofpass; forexample the doors of; a garage in which the vehicle is tobehoused, orv gates in a roadway, such as the entrance .gates of mansions;The dovorsfof'a 4garage, if hinged, are usually constructed to openoutwards,whereas hinged gates of private carriageways leading off apublic high- Way must `be constructedzto open inwards. It is thereforedesirable vthat the Vvehicle actuated opening and `closing means whenapplied to hinged'doors or gates maybe adaptableto both kinds of doorsor gates, viz. those that open outwards andthose that open inwards, theactual detail'of the mechanism employedbeing modified toasuit eitherclass.

'An :object of the invention is to provide improved meanskfoivoiolei'ling and/or lclosing doors, gates or the like, whichwill belsimple, cheap and easy to install and require the minimum ofmaintenance. In its broadest aspect the present invention consists'ofmechanicalgmeans foropening and/or closing doors,gates andthe like'operable-by* a vehicle; approachingand/or receding from said doors,gates or the like. f

A particular object of this invention is to reduce to a minimum theamount of excavation required for theA installation of the device and toleliminate theI necessity for a separatefprime' mover.

"The present vvinvention 'further comprises aV vehicle-actuated devicevfor opening and/orclosing hin-ged doors' or gates having a exible train(or trains) of `.motion transmitting elements, of

which train one constituent *flexible element is adapted tov be attachedto the door or gate to be operated and is guided in a quadrant-shapedAfurther object of ythe invention is to provide path centred on thehinge of '.the door `or, gate, and an actuating member (or members)Vproject-Y ing above'the groundlevel atagdistance'from said door orgater within the track of the vehicle and movable in the line of travelthereof and connected with the said trainV of motion transmittingelements, the latter being lcapable vof gate at such a point thatthetravel; of the actui ating member is considerably less than thatofthe extremity of the door or gateremote fromithe hingel and'preferablyjat a point distant from the hinge about one third ofthe width ofthedoor, or gate. p ,Y

This'device maybe Vadapted to openand close a door or doors, eg. of agarage, from the outf side only, in whichcase' it'will comprise a singleactuating member situated in the roadway outside the said door or doors,gat-e'or gates.

Alternatively, thedevice may be adapted "to 5 open and close a door ordoors, lgrate or gates,

from either side, in which caseit will'comprise l two'actuating memberssituated respectively on the' inside and outsideoi said door (doors) orgate (gates). l

On approaching the door or `gateway thevehicle operates the device, by,a iiXed part. thereof, e. g; the front axle coming irl-contact with anactuating member which is 'moved in the direction towards the door or4gateway by the progress ofthe vehicle, there-by opening, the door orgate. When' the doorV is fully opened the said xed part of the vehiclerides over the actuating member, which may beyarranged'to; yield'as'hereinafter moregparticularly described. If the Aapparatus isrequired to close the door behind the' vehicle after its passage asecond actuating member'is placed on the other sideof the doorand is arYrangedto close the doorgon being moved infthe direction of travel bycontact with the fixed part Y of-the vehicle.

When the second actuating'memberI has completed its travel and thedoorsare fully'closed the said fixed part` of thevehicleV may 'ride overitfolfy which purpose it may be arranged' to yieldin the rsame way asYthe first mentioned actuating member. VOn reversing the vehicle thesequence of operations mentioned above is performed in the reversedirection, the doors being opened to allow the vehicle to pass and nallyclosed again. Y

It is desirable, especially in the case ofthe ap- Y plication of thedevice toithe'doors of la garage or in any other situation'where.economy of space is required, that the same part Vof Ythe vehicle shallmake contact with the .actuating member or `members irrespective ofwhether the vehicle `its travelling forward or in reverse. For example,hinged garage doors are usually constructed to open outwards and runlesstheactuating member is distant by more than the vehicles length from thedoor it is necessary to ensure that the actuating member isY not fouledby the rear axle of the vehicle when it is reversed out of the garage,y

asV this would cause the doors yto close before the vehiclewas clear 'ofthem;

y It is therefore desirable that the projection Vabove the ground levelof the actuating member f ormembers shall 'be less than the generalground "clearance of the vehicle, .the necessary contact beingestablished by vproviding on a convenient part of the vehicle janattachment or device pro- Y jecting below the level ofthe rest of theunder part of the chassis. As the more usualmethod Y habit of reversingintoV his garage the attachment is to drive into agarage forwards andreverse out again, the front axle or bumperA is the most convenientposition for mounting the said attachmentor device, but 'if`v a vehicleowner is in the or`device may be mounted at the back, e. g. on the rearbumper Oron the back axle.

'Furthen in order that the actuating lever may Y V be placed as close aspossible to the Vgarage doors j to save space it is preferable'to mountthe attachment or device for operating the door actuating member lat thefurthest forward point of the .vehicle, i. e. on the front bumper if:one is fitted.

. -In-applying the device-tothe operation of a' gate or gates, e. g. ofa private driveway leadingoff a public road, suchv gatesbeing invariablyar.-

ranged to open inwards, the position .on the ve' hicleofthe partadaptedfto make contact with ating member.

the actuating element is of less importance as there is generallysuicient Vroom inside the gateway tomount. the actuating member farenough from the gate (or gates) to avoid any possibility of fouling thegate, vwhatever part of the vehicle is used to make contactrwith theactu- Y Even in this case, however, as the available space on -theoutside of the gateway may be limited, it is preferableto arrange thecontactingattachment or device at Vthe, front of the .vehicle. Y

The tting of a suitable .projecting part or contact element to a vehiclemay be done in any con- Y venient way'and it is to be understood thatthe mere attachment to a vehicle of Ya projecting present invention. Y g

This inventiomhowever, includes theprovision, as an attachment to thevehicle, of av device'comprising a resiliently mounted member adapted tomakecontactwith the actuating element, the

memberdoes not initself constitute a part of the' resilient mountingofthe said member allowingr Y itftoyield in the direction of pressureandupwardly, so as to 4enable it to ride over the actuating Yelement 'aftercompleting the throw 'ofA the latter for operating the door, gate or thelike;

,v Conveniently, the resiliently mounted membermay consist of atransverse bar preferably carry;

ing a roller mounted below the bumper or axle the actuating element.

and supported at its ends on arcuate guides arranged in the fore and aftdirection with their Y convexities downwards and carryingspringsresisting themovement of the bar in either direc-Y tion on said guides.y'Ihe springs must be stiif enough not .to yield appreciably to thepressure required forV operating the door'openingldevice,

but when the actuating element reaches the endY of its throw theyielding of the springsallows the bar to rise along the arcuate guidesand ride over tachment lmay preferably be xed to the axle, in which caseif the axle is of .I section a sheet metal cover may be applied to itVto prevent the end ofthe door actuating element .(if long enough) fromcatching in the hollowfof the I section. rOn the other hand ifspace-saving in the door operating installationis a consideration,

the attachment should be fixed on the bumper as above indicated.V

In the case of an rinstallation foroperating the doors of adomesticgarage, it is undesirable that .1

the actuating element or elementsY should project much .above groundlevel and therebyconstitute trip in the dark.

For appearance this atobstructions on which a person might stumble orV'Ihis may be obviated by'raising an artificial V4hump in the groundsurrounding theactuating x element.

Preferably in a'vehicle` actuated devicefforxy opening and/or closingdoors or gates as herein-.-A

before Y' set' forth, the flexiblettrain ofmotion i if the device isadapted to operate the door or Vgate t from either side the twoactuating members thereof vare respectively "connected to "opposite:,limbsV of the endless motion transmitting member. Y

In this case the limb of the endless member to t.

which the door or gate to be operated` is connected depends on thedirection in which the door or gate opens. i Y

In one formV of construction the device" is Vadaptf ed tooperate doubledoors or gates, in which case .v

it comprises duplicated elements each adapted 4to operate one of the twodoors or gates and both Y connected to an actuatingl member or memberssituated centrally of the carriageway.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention the flexible trainl ofmotionv transmitting elements is entirely composed of ilexible cableoperating in tension and includes a portion of cable provided with anelement adapted to be attached tothe door or gate, and led over apluralityV of idle rollers mounted in a quadrantal channel centred ontheA doorV hinge andsituated inror Vbelow the carriageway.

. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the'exible motiontransmittingttrain in cludes a motion transmitting element orelementsVconstituted by a strip (or strips) of spring steel guidedin'averticalslot or channel (slots or .chan-Y nels) partly quadrantal inplan form, and having no abrupt bends, situated in or belowthe kcare e friageway. Y

The attachment to the-.door or gate is lprefel .erably effected by-meansof a vertical bolt mounted onl the door,-Which bolt can be dropped into(or raised from) a suitable eye formed in a constituent member of themotion transmitting train.

@ther features of this invention willfappeanin theffollowingvdescription with reierencefto the aocom-panying drawings of anembodiment "of the invention and afmodification vthereof,'both :adaptedto operate'double doors or gates` from veither side, thearrangementlbeing suitable for 'thedouble doorsof aprivate garage. Anattachment to' the vehicle'ior operating the device gis :alsoedescri-bedand illustrated.

,if Inf the dra-wingst '..--Fig-.fl' isa fragmentary plan viewjofanlembodimen'tofithe invention applied .to operating double :doorsof Vadomestic,4 garage;

Fig. 42 is'a fragmentary `central longitudinal vertical'fsection of thesame;

Fig..f3.is a fraginentary'view in-perspective on 1an 1enlarged scale andpartly .broken away, showing the attachment of the operating mechanismtozthedoor .and adjacent parts of the mechafnism'; l Figi. 4 isa detailview in perspective, partly in rc-ection'and on a urther'enlarged scale,of the 'door attachment 'andV adjacent parts;

, Fig. 5 is a 4detail View Vin `perspective on aneniairgeds'cale;showing'the attachments to one ofA the actuating leversand .adjacent parts; .-rFig: 6 is a detail View in perspective toapproximately the same scale as Fig. 5, showing one of thefguidesz ofthe actuating lever detached'from its foundation;

fFig'I is a'fragrnent'ary plan View of a modication;l ffligl is a viewin central longitudinal vertical section taken' along the line 8-8 ofFig. '7; v."'.Fi"g.9 is a Vfragmentary viewinfront elevation, partly invsection, of an-attachment to a vehicle'resiliently mounted on the frontvbumper ff'or actuatinga device as shown in any of Figs. ltoffpf f "Fig:1Q is a view in section taken along the line lil-LIQ off'Fig. 9;*and Y"Fig.' 1:1 is asomewhat diagrammatic view to a reduced scale showing'thedeviceV of Figs. 9 and 10 in position on a motor..vehi`cle. Y I A"Referring to Figs'. 1'to6';.2a Ydomesticgarage havingwallsIiI-and-a-cement'or concrete floor I2*continuedfoutside"the doorsby an apron I3, is providedwi'th'double doorsl I, II@ hinged at Hx."Asthe twofdoors and their :attachments are"exactly'similar,it'isonlynecessary to Adescribe the fattachrrientsto the door II.` 'Il'hecorresponding parts associated '.WiththeY other i door I ia have similarreference -`V numbers it'o. v'those associatedwith :the door i I I, fand.are @distinguishedgiwhereshown. in the drawings, 'byA addition -oi'theletterLa'.

l\lear'the.hinge and' at a distance therefrom about one-third'of'thewidth of'the door, the door ii .isiprovided With .a Yvertical bolt I4adapted atoube dropped into .or raised :from `a attachedxcablesY I'fand:H. Themetalblockl and theadjacentpart of; the :cable I6 fare llocated in.a channel-#82 Whichmay'be of i metaLrcement', earthenwaref or YAothersuitable rmaterial andi is substantially buried in the apron I3.The'channel YI 9 is* circular in1cross-isection aridzquadrantal in'planform, being centredon ,thedoorrhinge IIar;V The upper partofthe,channelt'ISis cut aW'ayfto` form a slotY I9. 'Ihepart ofthezfcableI6 adjacentjtherblockrl 51s ledtovenennumberfof Y of ther cables.

`:idlerrollers I8mounted inthe channel I9.1The

.block Ivi-.is partly circularfin--crosssection, being :of= a size.toibezarunningt'inrthe.channel I9, .and :is provided With a fiat ISyto-roll oni-'the rollers I,8. Furthermore, the block I5is curved infplan Yto iit the plan curvature ofthe channel fllgfand"thiszprevents theblock vfrom turning onv `its axis of movement.

Beyond the outerend ofthe channel lI9 the lcable Iltis led over a xedroller 2I-and then passed through a straight duct 22 Whichi'mayconveniently be of metal'piping buried within vthe-*concrete ooring, andbeyond the inner end of f.the channel vI9 the cables `I6 and I1 are led.over'idlepulleys 20,#23 respectively, located'rbeflD door Iia areexactly similarjand the cables I'Ia and IIal corresponding tothe cablesI6 and I'I :are .ledround idle pulleysv 24a, 25a. The pulleys;24,i24a.,125, 25a are .all mounted on the same vervtical axle but areindependent of one another. `'After passing round the pu1leys.24,. 24athe cables '.i, waere led length-ways of the garage to` -Wards"theinside and are both connected to a i'tting` 25 :which mayconveniently be ra turnbuckle,'foradjusting the tension of the cables.To the 'fitting 725'- is4 attached a single lcableZI Vwhich lies incontinuation of the cables-16,' I 6u. i-

and is ledalongthe centre line of` the garage towards the back and.shackled at 28 to `averti'cal-actuating lever29 .arranged to 'rock in alongitudinal direction. Y

Ina similar manner the cables I1, I'Ia, after passing'roundthepul1eys'25,125a are-led along the-central linetowards the outside ofthe garage andare-both joined to a'turnbuckle 30 similar toturnbuckle26,-to which is attached-a single cable'3l in continuation of the cablesI'I,- Ila. The cableV 3l is led along the centre line off'thecarriageway-'and passed over a xed pul1ey'32a located in thecarriagewaynoutside the garage. It is then brought back along the sameline and thenattached to a `shackle 33a of a lever 29a similar to thevlever`29. The lever 29a is provided with a shacklefa similarly placedto the shackle 28 of the lever 29, Which is in turn provided Ywith ashackle 33 similarly placed to the shackle-33a" '55 cable 34 which ispassed over a Xed pulley 32k 'of the lever 29a. To the shackle 33 isattached a guided in ducts 36 .laid iny the'oor of-.the garage" and..inthe external'. apron; these 'ducts Ymay con.-

v'eniently be'of iron or steel pipe.

The pulley assembly .2 4,."240L,`.l 25, 125m. andthe adjacent parts' ofthe cablesflf, ll, Ia,'IIa are located'in a shallow excavation 133,lwhich isl covered Lbyacover platel 381:, inspection covers'f39 being.provided (where shown)v for access to the 21, 3|, 34 and 34a (whereshown),v the small ducts 36` each enclosing a single cable opening intothe larger ducts 31, which may be formed of cement, earthenware or othersuitableV material. Y

It will be seen from the foregoing that the doors II, IIa are' connectedto an endless train of flexible motion transmitting elements consistingsuccessively of the cables I6 or IBLL, 21, 34, 34a, 3|, and I1 cr I1a,the said trainbeing branched at 30 and 26 'forV connection lto the twodoors to beoperated;

The parts more particularly associated with theV two actuating levers 29and 29a being exactly similar, it will be unnecessary to; describe morethan one. Y

yThe lever 29 is situated in a narrow but relatively deep excavation 49,in the bottom of which is arranged a fixed transverse fulcrum pin 4Iengaging in Va slot 29x at vthe bottom of the lever. Near the upper endthe lever is provided with apair of rollers 42 arranged on each [side of.the leverl which ride on a pair of longitudinal guides 43. These guidesarehoriz'ontal but terminate at eachv end in an abruptly curved ramp43:11. The slotted connection 4I, 29a: enables the rollers 42 to remainin contact with the guidesV 43 and the weight of the leveris supportedon the rollers. The lever is thus guidedin its travel in such a way thatthe projection of the lever above the floor or ground level remainssubstantially constant throughout its travel except at the ends thereof,where the ramps '43:13 allow the lever to drop Vslightly and thisenables the part of the vehicle'which makes contact with the lever toride over the end thereof when the lever has completed its stroke ineitherdirection. To raise the lever again after the passage of thevehicle by forcing it up the ramps 43m, buier springs 44 are fixed tothe lever on either side thereof which make. contact with the Walls ofthe excavation 4I). 'Ihe lever 29a is constructed and mounted in anexactly similar manner to the' lever 29,Y being fulcrumed on a pin 4Iaand provided with rollers 42a riding on ramps 43a and with buffersprings 44a.' v f Thedetails of the lever and its attachments to thecables operating the doors are shown on an enlarged scale inY Fig. 5.

`To enable the cable 3| to pass the lever 29a it .is deected slightly toone side thereof vas shown in Figs. l, 2,Y and 5. The Vmounting of theguides 43 is shown in greater detail in Fig. 6. The upper edges of thecement or concrete Walls of the Vexcavation (or 49a) are shaped Vto thesamevform as the guide 43, as shown at 48 in Figf, and the guide itselfis'provided'with lateral 41 embedded in the cement edging .48. 60

tongues which are secured byV nuts 46 to studs After securing thetongues 45 on the studs 41 the whole (except the guide itself)V ispreferably covered over with a rendering of cement and to assist inpositioning and securing the guides there are further'providedV lateralpins 49` which become embedded in thesaid cement rendering.

YIn order'toY prevent the external lever from,`

VV2,120,084 Y p For inspecting the vxedpulleys 32, 32a,"de=

tachable covers 5I, 5Ia are preferably provided. The operation of the-device is as follows. 1

Assuming the doors Yto be closedV and the ex V ternal andinternal'leversV 29a,`29 at the outer i Yandinner ends of their throwsrespectively, Ythe approach of Vthe vehicle ,brings a suitable part ythereof in contact with the lever 29a. Further progress of the vehiclethrows over the lever 29a.

from the outer to the inner end of its travel (right to left in Figs. 1and 2). The Vmovement ofthe lever is communicated in tension by thecables 3|, I1 and I1a to the blocks I5 I5a which are` j caused to travelalong the quadrantal channels` I9,' I9a carrying with them the bolts I4,I4a, and

thereby opening doors I |,`|Ia. When the lever y 29areaches the end ofits travel the rollers 42a drop down the ramps 43.7: and the consequentdropping of the lever 29a allows the vehicle to pass. After'the passageof the vehicle the lever is sprung up the'ramps again by the action ofthe spring buffer 44a.

At thesame time the movement of the lever v 29a is furthercommunicatedrby the blocks I5 and I5a to the cables I6, I Baand thecab1e 21 (acting intension) to the lever 29, Whichgis thereby thrownover fromthe inner tothe outerV 1 I end of its travel (left to right inFigs. 1 and` 2),

y'se

backagain'by the buffer Vspring 44 in readinessV n,

for engagement again. Themovement vof the lever is communicated by thecable 21 and the cables IB, IGa (acting in tension) tothe .blocks I5,I5a which are therebyv pulledback along theY quadrantal channels I9, I9aand close the doorsk f again. This movement is further communicated Yfrom the blocks I5,. I5a by means of the cables` I1, I1a and 3| (actingin tension) to the lever 29a which'is thereby pulled back from theinnerV to the outer end of its stroke. i

In this way the vehicle on approaching and` entering the garage rstopens the `doors and 'y then closes the doors after its entry.

When it is required. .to reverse the vehicle out of the garage thesequence of operations isexactly ofthe lever 29 is communicated bythecables 34, 34a acting in tension, to the lever 29a, and thence bymeans', of the cables 3|, I1, and I 1a,

. reversed. In this case the outward movementY` also acting in tension,to the blocks I5, I5a; and

on emerging from the garage theoutward move- Y ment of the lever 29a iscommunicatedy by means of the cables 34a and 34 (acting in tension) tothe lever 29, and thence" by means of ther cables 21, I6, and IEa, alsoacting in tension, to the blocks I5, 'I5a; In this Way the vehicle, onbeing reversed out of the garage, rst opens the garage doors and'thencloses themafter it.

The movement of theactuating levers 29, 29a

is indicated in Fig. 2 by double-ended arrows and asimilar curveddouble-ended arrowin Fig. 3 indicates the movement of the bolt I4 andblock I5. `H

can be modiedto operate a single door or gate by eliminating one set ofthe branched cables I6, I6a, I1, I1a and the appropriate parts of theduplicatemechanism actuated thereby. Y

v '70 It will easily be seen that this arrangement li'ilrther,l it will`bel seen that the apparatus'can be'modied'to operate a'door'or-'gate(or pairof doors or gates) from "one sidel only, i. e.Y the inside orthe outside, by 'eliminating one of the levers 29"or'29iz, and couplingup the appropriate cables,

e.- g. 34;; 21,* directly to yone another. With such an arrangement thecar will open the doors (or gates) on approaching them from one side, e.g.

, the" outside, an-d leave them open after passing through, and onpassing out in the opposite direction will .then close theY doors(orgates) from theyoutside after it has passed.

Whereasl the device is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as Ainstalled foroperating the doors of a garage whichopenoutwards,` it will readily beunderstoodthattif' the device is to'beV adapted for operatinggates inacarriageway or the like which open'inwards,l the left'hand half ofthedrawing wil'rrepresent'the outside of the carriageway and tleiright handVhalf of the drawing the part of the carriageway'within*y the gates, thedoors II, IIa being'replaced by the gates in question and thegarage'wallsomitted. Insuch a case only so much ofthe carriageway needbe cemented or concretedas is necessary to form a suitably rigid housingand` support for the' gate operating mechanism:

Itshould'further be noted that in this instance Utheiouter actuatinglever 29 may be set quite "'close' to" the gateway, as itwill beoperated by lsary to`take' precautions against creating obv structionsprojecting from the ground, so that edges of the doors I I, I Ia.

:Witlr'the length of the excavation 40a containing the hump 50' may beomitted, but if such hump is thought advisable, both the actuatinglevers shouldb'e shrouded by a hump'and not only one fas-shownin Figs. 1and 2.

It will .be seen 'by reference to Fig. 2 that when the'externallever'29a is at the inner end of its travelitis approximately in linewith the outer This length, together the 'lever' mechanism, representsthe minimum space outsidethe garage doors required for inst'alling'thedevice. If the external lever mechanism 40a was placed any nearer thedoor opening,

the front of the vehicle 'would foul the doors as they open on itsapproach.

It` is further to be noted that if the external lever 4mechanism isplaced as close .to the doors as this, the lever must be actuated by themost forward part of the vehicle, i. e. by the front bumper or la memberattached thereto. If the axle is used for actuating the lever, the levermechanism must be set back outside the garage byafurther'distance equalto the distance by which .the Vaxle is set back from the most forwardpart of the vehicle, e. g. the bumper or dumb irons;

Similarly .the exact position for the internal lever mechanism withinthe garage must bedetermined vin accordance with what part of thevehicle is adapted to actuate the internal lever; atleast when'thegarage is only just large enough to hold the vehicle -it is to house.Obviously if the garage has an excess of length over that of thevehicle,a corresponding tolerance may be exercised'in the placing of the levermechanism.

In a modication of the device described above, Y

, .the cable'systemH I6," Ia, I1, Ila (acting always intension) isreplaced by a push and pull system utilizing strips of spring steelguided in suitable channels.

This modification is illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8` a rigidY crosshead52, which is alsoY connected direct to-the cable 3l by substitutingyforthe branched cables il, Ilal (Figs. 1 and 2) a short single lengthof cableV 3Ia: in prolongation'of the cable 3|. To the ends of thecrosshead are connected the inner ends of a' pair of strips- 53, 53a of"spring steel set on edge and guided' Vwithin narrow channels 54,S40/formed in theV concrete flooring I2. The -outer ends of thesespringsteel strips are bent over to form eyes 53:1:

which receiventhe lower ends of the-bolts I4 and Ida. 1

It will be'evident that the movement of the actuating levers shown inFigs. 1 and 2 for opening the doors is communicated by the cablet 3| 3Ixactingfin tension to the crosshead 52v and thence by means ofstrips-53and 53a acting in compression, to the doors To enable thestrips 53, 53a to operate in compression, the guide channels 54, 54amust not be too wide otherwisethe strips 53, 53a will be liable .tobuckle and jamA on the sides of the channels. the guide channels mustobviously not be so narrow that binding occurs.

As will be seen from'the'drawings (Fig. '7) the channels 54 aregenerally ogival in plan form terminating at .their outer ends `in aquadrantal part 54x centred on the upper hinge IIx. vThese quadrantalparts 54a: form the tracks of the bolts I4, Ida in opening and closingthe doors.

In Fig. 7 Vdouble-ended arrows indicate the' approximate movement of thedoors on their hinges and the longitudinal movement of the crosshead.

The apparatus described .above with reference to any of Figs. 1 to 8 mayalso be modified to operate simultaneously the door or doors of a garageand an outer gate or gates in the carriageway, e. g. as may be providedto close Yaccess to a private drive-way leading tothe garage from thepublic high-way. Y

In this casethe external actuating member (lever) is arranged on theoutside of the outer gates and so much- 'of the mechanism as isnecessary is duplicated. For example, in the'form of the device shown inFigs. 1 to `6, the -set of elements Il! to 25, Ida. to 25a, 26 vand3Uwil1 be duplicated, one set being connected to the garage doors andthefother to the outside gates, the cables 21, 3I being extended asnecessary between the duplicated connections 26,130 respectively. If theouter gates open thessame wayas the garage doors, e. g. outwards, theduplicate setiof elements I4 to 25;. I 4afto'25a,` .connected to theouter gates vwill be .arranged exactly similarlyA to the first setoperating the garage doors; but if the outer gates open theopposite'wayto -the garage doors, the duplicate quadrantal channelsv I9; I9a of.theI duplicate setswill be disposed oppositely in plan and .theVadjacent parts of the installation arranged 2 accordingly.

The above described arrangements are most easily'installed if thedrive-way between the outsidegatesI and the garage doors is straight butif not, the installation is still possible, provided the bend orcurveofthe drive-way is nottoo abrupt,

On the other hand the change of Vdirection being accommodated bylproviding suitable guiding pulleysV or fair-leads for the cables 3l,34a.r

As the invention also comprises a resilient device for attachment to avehicle andadapted to engage `with the actuating levers of a door (orgate)Y voperating device in accordance with this invention, an exampleof Vsuch an attachment to the vehicle is shown in Figs. 9, 10, and-V11and may be briey described as follows:-

The bumper Ybar extending lacross the front of the vehicleV is shown at55.V To this are secured by bolts 5B and nuts 56a a pair of clips 5l towhich are secured a pair of guide bars 58 which are curved in acirculararc and arranged with their convexities downwards. 59 hasits flattenedends 59arpierced to thread on the bars 58,7on which are further mountedhelical springs 60, which are threaded on the Ybars 58V and disposed oneither side ofthe iiattened ends 59a of the bar 59.

The bar 59 serves as the axle for a roller 8|. By this arrangement thetransverse roller 6 l is resiliently Ysuspended beneath the front bumper55 and is capable of yielding either backwards or forwards. The

' ground clearance o-fk the roller 6| is selected to enable it toengager the actuating levers of the door operating device when theroller is in its normal position, midway between the ends of the guidebars 58 and it is to be noted that in this position the ground clearanceof the roller must be less than 'that of any other part of the vehiclelying on the central line.

The strength of the springs 69 is so chosen Ythat the resistance offeredby the actuating lever to the roller 6I during the operation of thedoors (or gates) is notV sufficient to cause the springs 6D to yieldappreciably, but when the actuating lever reaches the end of its travelthe resistance Y it encounters causes springs to yield, so that thesupporting axle 59 of the roller slides along the guide bars 58, eitherforward or backwards as the case may be, and thereby raises the rollerslightly. The engagement of the actuating lever with the roller when thelatter is in its normal VVposition must not therefore be too deep, inorder to enable the roller to ride easily over the end of the actuatinglever when the springs 60 yield.

If the space available for the door or gate operating mechanism permitsof it, the def v'vice described with reference to Figs. 9 to 11,

may, instead of being mounted on the front Y bumper, be mounted on thefront axle, and this 4rantal path centred on the hinge of said door oris preferable as far as the appearance of the vehicle is concerned.

If the device in question is so Iitted to the axle and the latter is ofI section, a sheet metal fairing is preferably tted over the axle toprevent the upper ends of the actuating levers Vfrom catching in thehollow of the I section.

What I claim isz- 1. Vehicle-actuated means for operating a hingeddooror gate, including an element attachable to said dooror gate, meansarranged below ground level for guiding said element in a quadgate andmechanism actuable by an approaching or receding vehicle for moving saidelement along saidl guiding means in the appropriate direction, saidmechanism'including flexible tension trans- :mitting elements connectedto said first named element to move the same in either direction alongits quadrantal path,'and guiding and sup` porting means for said tensiontransmitting elements, including a number of idle rollers mountedV Atransverse bar within said first named guiding means and pulleys runningon iixed axes mounted adjacentV the VendsV of said quadrantal path. k Y,

2. Vehicle-'actuated door operating means as claimed in claim 1, whereintherst mentioned guiding means consists of a hollow channel memberquadrantal in plan form and slotted along its upper face and thementioned element guided therein consists of a pieceof metal so shapedas,

to fit in said channel and to prevent turning lof. itself on its axis ofmovement.

3. For co-operation .with vehicle-actuatedV means for operating a door,gate or the like including an element movable in theline ofY travel ofan approaching or receding vehicle by `contact therewith and mechanismactuated thereby for operating said door, gate or the like; means` meansfor operating a door, gate or the like in.-

cluding an element movable in the line of travel of an approaching orreceding vehicle by contact therewith and mechanism actuated thereby foroperating said door, gate or the likeymean's attachable to a vehicle foractuating said actuating clement including a bar arranged transverselybf the vehicle, means mounted onthe vehicle for. supporting the endsrofsaid bar and guiding them in arcuate paths lying in the fore and aftdirec-l tion of the vehicle with their convexities .downwards, springmeans mounted on said supporting and guiding meansfor resisting movementof said bar on said last named means in either direction from a meanposition, and'roller means mounted on said bar.

5. Vehicle-actuated means for operating a hinged door orY gate,including motion transmitting mechanism, means for Vconnecting saidmechanism to the door or gate to vbe operated, a

lever for actuating said mechanism slldably en.

gaged with a fulcrum arranged in the track of anYV approaching vehiclebelow ground level with` its axis transverse to the direction of travelof the vehicle and means comprising horizontal guide Y rail means andcoacting vmeans mounted on the lever at ailxed point thereof, Yandcausing 4a sub-V stantially constant length of, the lever to projectabove ground level throughout; the greater/part of the travel of thelever. u

6. Vehicle-actuated means for operating a,

hinged rdoor or gate as claimed in claim 5 wherein the means mounted onthe lever for coactin'grwith the guide rail means comprises rollers. Y i

'7. Vehicle-actuated door operating means "a claimed in claim` 5,wherein the mentioned hori` zontal guide rail means have downwardlycurved ends Vand spring `means are provided for yieldably resisting thelever when the means; mounted en Y thereon for coacting with the guiderail meansA Y are in contact with the curved ends of theguide railmeans, so as to maintain the normal degree. of projection of theleverexcept Vwhen the latter.

is forcibly moved to either extreme end of its travel.

3. Vehicle-actuated means for operating a hinged door or gate, includingmechanism actuable by an approaching or receding vehicle and operatingin the line of. travel of the vehicle, a flexible motion transmittingmember operative in tension and compression comprising a strip ofspringy steel set on edge and guided in a narrow channel of generallyogival plan form terminating in a quadrantal part centred on the doorhinge and means connecting the end of the said stripy moving in thequadrantal part of said channel to the door or gate.

9. A vehicle actuated device for opening and closing doors or gatesmounted on vertical hinges comprising at least one actuating memberprojecting above ground level and movable in the line of travel of thevehicle by contact therewith, an endless exible train of motiontransmitting elements actuable by said actuating member, a quadrantalchannel centred on the hinge of the door or gate to be operated, saidchannel being located in the floor or roadway adjacent said hinge, anelement connected with said endless motion transmitting train andsituated in and movable along said channel, means detachably connectingthe door or gate to said element, the endless motiontransmitting trainbeing so disposed, and its connection with the coacting parts, i. e. thesaid door-connected element and the actuating member, being such thatmovement of the actuating element towards the door opens it and viceversa and the whole mechanism with the exception of the projecting partoi the actuating member being laid below ground or oor level.

10. A vehicle actuated device for opening and closing doors or gatesmounted on vertical hinges comprising at least one actuating memberprojecting above ground level and movable in the line of travel of thevehicle by contact therewith, an endless exible train of motiontransmitting elements actuable by said actuating member, a quadrantalchannel centered on the hinge of the door or gate to be operated, saidchannel being located in the floor or roadway adjacent said hinge, anelement connected with said endless motion transmitting train andsituated in and movable along said channel, said element having a sockettherein, and a vertical slidable bolt mounted on the door or gate andengageable with said socket for detachably connecting the door or gateto said element, the endless motion transmitting train being sodisposed, and its connection with the coacting parts, i. e. the saiddoor-connected element and the actuating member, being such thatmovement of the actuating element towards the door opens it and viceversa and the whole mechanism with the exception of .the projecting partof the actuating member being laid below ground or floor level.

WILLIAM AUSTIN.

